Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Every three weeks, always on a Thursday afternoon, I amble on over to the cancer center for my IV treatment.

(I also take Cytoxan, a chemo drug that comes in pill form, every day, plus a handful of other pills to help deal with the side effects and fringe benefits of being in cancer treatment—anxiety, high blood pressure, occasional depression, insomnia.)

The total bill for each treatment session at the cancer center is something north of $20,000. The annual cost of my cancer care is more than $300,000. That’s three hundred thousand dollars a year.

Almost $30,000 a month to keep me alive.

I have no idea who this lady is. Her story clearly illustrates why health insurance should be a priority for people . . . before they get sick.

As a result of the high cost of Herceptin and Avastin, I am going to hit my lifetime max of $1 million on my health insurance before the end of 2007.

Then what? I can’t even afford a month’s worth of cancer treatment on my own.

Some of the individual plans in GA have $2M caps, while others stop at $3M. Sadly, many group plans, usually those covering public employees, have caps of $1M - $1.5M.

A $2M cap is low by today's standards. A $3M cap should be adequate for most situations, at least for the foreseeable future.

Every three weeks, always on a Thursday afternoon, I amble on over to the cancer center for my IV treatment.

(I also take Cytoxan, a chemo drug that comes in pill form, every day, plus a handful of other pills to help deal with the side effects and fringe benefits of being in cancer treatment—anxiety, high blood pressure, occasional depression, insomnia.)

The total bill for each treatment session at the cancer center is something north of $20,000. The annual cost of my cancer care is more than $300,000. That’s three hundred thousand dollars a year.

Almost $30,000 a month to keep me alive.

I have no idea who this lady is. Her story clearly illustrates why health insurance should be a priority for people . . . before they get sick.

As a result of the high cost of Herceptin and Avastin, I am going to hit my lifetime max of $1 million on my health insurance before the end of 2007.

Then what? I can’t even afford a month’s worth of cancer treatment on my own.

Some of the individual plans in GA have $2M caps, while others stop at $3M. Sadly, many group plans, usually those covering public employees, have caps of $1M - $1.5M.

A $2M cap is low by today's standards. A $3M cap should be adequate for most situations, at least for the foreseeable future.